Organizational Mindfulness: From High Reliability to the Holy Grail of Enlightenment

• In Event: Strategies for Leading Inclusive Change: Design Thinking, Mindfulness, Adaptive and Values-Driven Leadership

Short Description

In the philosophical traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism, an individual mindfulness practitioner can evolve to a state of self-realization and enlightenment. Can organizations similarly evolve and perform in a perfected state of mindful bliss? The presenter will hypothesize whether the goal of an enlightened organization is realizable or just a fantastic notion.

Detailed Abstract

Mindfulness is an ancient spiritual practice and originated in the eastern philosophical traditions of Hinduism and Zen Buddhism. Practitioners of mindfulness observe their inner and outer present moment experience. By sustaining a high degree of concentration and focus, these individuals effectively engage with their environments and remain in a state of complete acceptance with whatever they are experiencing. Research demonstrates that mindfulness has numerous benefits, which include lower stress and anxiety levels, better situational awareness, and increased creativity.

Organizational theorists recognized mindfulness has positive implications for employers and studied its application within organizations. In their work, “Managing the Unexpected, Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity,” Weick and Sutcliffe reviewed the case study literature on high-reliability organizations, specifically naval aircraft carriers, air traffic control systems, and nuclear power plants. The original research, led by a team of researchers at University of California, Berkeley, explored how these organizations maintained their safety records considering the high-risk nature of their respective industries. Despite having to perform under constant pressure, they avoid major catastrophes and the Cal Berkeley research team labeled their organizations as having “high reliability.” Weick and Sutcliffe studied these HROs and found common themes existed in terms of their ability to move away from the habitual and maintain situational awareness; accept and experience situations as they are not as they would like them to be; respond more effectively to major incidents that occur. The researchers recognized each HRO exhibited collectively within their organization the same behaviors and outward actions studied and demonstrated by individual mindfulness practitioners. They established that the HROs had overall operations and cultures grounded in collective or “mindful organizing.” Weick and colleagues describe five processes that lead to mindful organizing and solid performance: preoccupation with failure, reluctance to simplify interpretations, sensitivity to operations, commitment to resilience, and deference to expertise. Together, they posit, these processes lead to a collective capability to discover and manage unexpected events and ultimately, reliability.

As organizations practice mindful organizing, are they functioning optimally or is there more? Can they go beyond their current state of functioning and high reliability? In the philosophical traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism, an individual mindfulness practitioner can evolve to a state of self-realization and enlightenment. In Sanskrit this is “Sat Chit” or existence and consciousness. The enlightened individual functions in a perfected state of reality and experiences reality as “Ananda” or bliss. Subsequently, the benefits of this state are allegedly considerably beyond what science has thus far measured. Similarly, can mindful organizations evolve as entities, function beyond their current reality, and perform in a perfected state of bliss?

This presentation will explore these questions to determine whether it is possible for mindful organizations to achieve the holy grail of enlightenment. Additionally, if it were possible, what else would be required of them in order to function at this perfected state of reality? Lastly, what are the benefits of evolving from being a mindful organization to an enlightened one? We will use case study literature to study HROs and other mindfulness organizations to address these questions and determine whether the notion of an enlightened organization is realizable or is it just a fantastic notion.

The presenter works for a large global consultancy and leads a team of highly experienced consultants that advise and offer strategic partnership to Executive HR, Talent, and Learning and Development and business leaders on Human Capital strategy, development, alignment, and execution. For more than 30 years, her career has been dedicated to leadership, consulting, executive coaching, and learning and development with numerous Fortune 500 organizations as well as the public sector.

Participant

• Barbara Steel, Bersin by Deloitte